A new study recently found that middle and high school students were at a greater risk for drug and alcohol use when they have a sibling deployed in the military. The study also found that multiple deployments by a parent or sibling increased the risk of substance use by 18 percent.
So you want to enjoy a long and successful recovery? You’ve made the decision to get clean and sober. You’ve gone through detox and entered a treatment program. Now you should be ready to begin a long and successful recovery, right? The hard part is over, right? Statistics show this isn’t always the case. So what are some of the things that you should be aware of while in recovery to help make it long and successful?
One of the most important things that ExecuCare stresses is undergoing nutritionally assisted detox for neurotransmitter restoration to bring balance back to the brain and address the physical component of addiction. This is a great first step in recovery because it cognitively prepares an individual. It enables the clarity of mind to make the necessary changes for a successful recovery, whether it be psychological, behavioral, social, spiritual, legal, etc.
According to Dr. David Sack, there are some signs that danger may be up ahead when it comes to recovery and risking relapse:
Stress management is a top skill needed for a successful recovery. Early detection and prevention of stress are key in managing it. Learning how to recognize stress and finding ways to combat it, are not the same for everyone and are not always easy. As we’ve discussed before on the blog, the relationship between addiction and stress is strong, so addressing stress management early in your recovery is crucial to preventing relapse.
Most people ignore early warning signs of stress. This causes the symptoms to worsen and increases the severity of the situation. Substance abuse and stress cause a vicious cycle. Drugs and alcohol are often used to self-medicate the uncomfortable symptoms of stress, but ultimately drugs and alcohol increase stress, further compounding the problem.
Prescription drug abuse is reaching epidemic proportions and has been for the past decade. The number of deaths caused by prescription drug overdoses has tripled since 1999. This is more than the number of fatalities from heroin and cocaine combined. The rise in abuse directly correlates with the increase in the number of prescriptions doctors write each year. However, the most frightening statistic is that more than 70 percent of the people who reported abuse of pain medicine, said they got it from family or friends. (www.Bloomberg.com)
According to TalkAboutRX.org, here are some tips for storing prescription drugs:
It makes sense to us that stress and addiction go hand-in-hand, but how are they really related? There is more than a decade of research available that demonstrates that changes in the synapses of the brain’s reward center relate to addiction behavior. Certainly, most of us who have worked in the addiction field for any length of time have witnessed the strong correlation between stress and an individual’s risk for addiction and relapse. So what is really happening in the body that makes stress such a precursor for addiction and relapse?
Teen addicts can improve their chances of a successful recovery by reaching out to help others. This could include doing general good deeds for the community, applying for a formal service position, volunteering for public outreach or sharing their stories with fellow addicts.
Teen addicts who become active in this type of helping, known in AA as AAH, are less likely to relapse and show better psychosocial improvement (Health.AM). Altruistic behavior puts their recovery into an entirely different frame of mind. This is why at ExecuCare, we consider this model of helping others to be a strong tool to incorporate into a young addicts treatment program. We have seen the tremendous benefit it has had on helping these young people to heal.
